EMV in USA: Assessment of Merchant and Card Issuer Readiness

The U.S. roadmap for the deployment of chip card has existed since 2012, providing the payment industry with plenty of time to prepare for the transition from magnetic-stripe cards to smart cards. Yet collectively, the industry has been slow to prepare for the monumental task of replacing the entire card payment infrastructure of the United States. Now, with only 18 months until the most important phase of the transition — the merchant liability shift — and with the added pressure of the Target card data breach placing stakeholders under increased scrutiny to get this right, the payment industry is gearing up for the big switch.

This report assesses the current state of merchant and issuer readiness to provide a cohesive view of where the industry stands today for issuers and merchants, where these stakeholders will be by the impending liability shift milestone in 2015, and what it will cost for them to get to EMV ubiquity.

Primary Questions:

How ready are U.S. merchants for EMV?

How ready are U.S. card issuers?

What is the likely timeline for EMV migration in the U.S.?

What will be the physical costs of the transition to EMV for terminals and cards?